PITTSBURG -- The Pittsburg State University baseball team will travel to Topeka to close out the regular season against Washburn University in a three-game MIAA series beginning Thursday (Apr. 30). The Gorillas and Ichabods will meet at 4 p.m. (CDT) Thursday at Falley Field at Steve Anson Stadium with a 4 p.m. contest Friday and an 1 p.m. game Saturday to follow.
 
Pittsburg State enters the contest with a 38-8 overall record, a 25-8 MIAA mark and a 10-game winning streak. The Gorillas climbed into a tie for first place in the MIAA standings with Rogers State University following an 18-0 run-rule win over Newman University Tuesday (Apr. 28). The results of Pitt State's series against Washburn and RSU's three-game set against Missouri Western State University will determine the 2026 MIAA Regular Season Championship as well as seeding for the upcoming 2026 MIAA Baseball Championships to be held at Edmond, Okla., May 6-10.
 
The Gorillas enter the WU series ranked No. 5 in the most recent National Collegiate Baseball Writers of America (NCBWA) NCAA Division II Top 25 poll released Wednesday (Apr. 29) as well as the American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA) Top 30 poll released Tuesday (Apr. 28). Pitt State also debuted at No. 1 in the first set of NCAA Division II Central Region rankings Wednesday.
 
Washburn is 20-27 overall (16-17 MIAA) heading into the final weekend of the regular season. The Ichabods currently sit in a tie for eighth place in the MIAA standings (with Central Oklahoma) with the 10 team teams in the conference advancing to postseason play.
 
The Gorillas lead the MIAA in batting average (.357), scoring (11.7 rpg), runs (536), hits (566), RBI (493), slugging percentage (.571) and on-base percentage (.478). Pitt State leads NCAA Division II in on-base percentage, ranks second nationally in scoring, fourth in runs and batting average, fifth in slugging percentage and 10th in D2 in hits.
 
Senior outfielder Dagen Brewer leads the MIAA in all three triple crown categories, batting .447 with 21 home runs and 89 RBI. He also leads the conference in slugging percentage (.975), on-base percentage (.5830 and bases on balls (53).
 
Brewer has collected 70 hits, 18 doubles and 21 home runs, scored 70 runs and compiled a school record 89 RBI. He leads D2 in RBI (1.93 pg), ranks second nationally in slugging, and fourth in D2 in home runs.
 
The Topeka native has twice been named NCAA Division II National Hitter of the Week this season. Brewer tied MIAA records with four HRs and 10 RBI in the Gorillas' 21-7 win over FHSU on Apr. 3. He set an MIAA record for consecutive games hitting streak at 37 games earlier this season.
 
Junior outfielder Eric Bacon is hitting .404 with 73 runs scored, 14 doubles, four triples, six home runs and 61 RBI. He leads the MIAA and ranks third in D2 in runs scored. Bacon also ranks second in the MIAA in hits (78) and ranks fifth in the conference in batting average.
 
Junior infielder Jadyn McNealy (.322, 87 runs, 42 SB) ranks third in D2 in stolen bases despite missing seven games due to injury. He set the PSU single season record with his 40^th stolen base last weekend vs. Rogers State. Senior outfielder Isaac Webb is slashing .380/.452/.702 on the season. He has 15 doubles, five triples, 10 home runs and 71 RBI to date. Webb became just the second Pitt State player in program history to hit for the cycle on Apr. 3. Senior catcher Grant Nottlemann also is batting .392 with 44 runs scored, seven doubles, five home runs and 46 RBI. Nottlemann ranks 10^th in the MIAA in batting average.
 
On the mound, graduate righthander Zach Voss is 9-2 on the season. Voss has a 3.28 ERA with 47 strikeouts in 57.2 innings pitched. Junior righthander Bradyn McClure has a 4-0 record with a 2.92 ERA and four saves in 49.1 innings over 12 appearances (three starts), while redshirt junior LHP Ty Blecha is 3-1 with a 4.46 ERA and 31 strikeouts in 42.1 innings of work over 12 appearances, including eight starts. Blecha was named the D2 Central Region Pitcher of the Year on Mar. 25 after rolling a three-hit shutout in the Gorillas series clinching shutout win vs. UCO on Mar. 22.
 
Redshirt sophomore RHP Elijah Seitz is 4-1 with a 5.32 ERA in 13 appearances (six starts) on the season, while senior righthander Preston Giltner is 5-2 with a 5.36 ERA in 14 appearances (10 starts). Redshirt junior RHP Cason Long is 3-0 with a 3.45 ERA and 36 strikeouts in 28.2 innings of work.
 
Senior RHP Cooper Crouch (0-2, 4.70) has four saves in 14 appearances on the season, while junior RHP Ethan Froud is 1-0 with a 3.75 ERA and one save in 12 relief outings and redshirt junior RHP Bradley Neill is 1-0 with a 5.57 ERA in 16 appearances. Senior righthander Ryan Leiker sports a 1-0 record with a 3.86 ERA in 10 relief outings.